Top 5 Doughnut Shops In Chicago

A doughnut can be a wonderful thing. It can also be dead weight, as in an overly processed, sickly-sweet pastry (yeah, I’m lookin’ at you, Dunkin’). But Chicago’s love of fried dough – be it yeasty or cakey – hasn’t subsided, despite the invasion of chain stores in nearly every neighborhood. More significantly, individually-owned, local shops are now establishing a foothold in the city, with Do-Rite (tucked inside Petterino’s) and Glazed & Infused now frying up batches of specialty doughnuts every morning for commuters in search of a quick, high-quality sugar high. My top 5 are all in the city (shout-outs to Spunky Dunkers in Palatine and County Donuts in Schaumburg) and they all have that remarkable combination of good dough that’s been rested, or “proofed” long enough, plus the fact they fry them in nice, hot, clean oil. Frostings are sweet, but not too much so, and each bite yields the perfect ratio of sweet-to-fat.

1. The Doughnut Vault
400 1/2 N. Franklin

2. Old Fashioned Donuts
11248 S. Michigan Ave.
(773) 995-7420

3. Glazed & Infused
1553 N. Damen

813 W. Fulton Market

4. Beavers Coffee and Doughnuts Truck

Location changes almost daily. Follow on Twitter or hit their website for details.

5. Dat Donut

1979 W. 111th St.
(773) 298-1001

Honorable mention:

Do-Rite